It is always good when distilleries produce a good regular line up. What’s even more exciting is when they get to the point where single barrels start being offered, because that signals individual barrels are aging enough to be good on their own rather than being part of a larger blend to achieve some homogenous whole. Davidsons is a large and diverse liquor store in Centennial, Colorado that bought their own barrel of the Colkegan Single Malt. This store pick was a single malt finished for a year in apple brandy casks, an offering that first appeared in April 2017. These apple brandy casks were from the apple brandy made by Santa Fe Spirits, making this whiskey a complete circle.
Distillery: Santa Fe Spirits
Region: Foreign
Age: NAS
Strength: 46%
Price: $49.99
Maturation: ex-apple brandy casks
Barrel: number 352, bottle 79
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Nose: Apple, smoke, banana, molasses
Palate: Apple, cream of wheat, grain
Finish: Smoke, poached pear, cinnamon
Comments: The Colkegan Apple Brandy Cask can go perfectly in the right cocktail, in addition to enjoying on its own.
Adam – The apple brandy influence is strong in this Colkegan Apple Brandy Cask. Fresh out of the bottle this zings with a burn, probably from the youth of the whiskey. Letting it oxidize for a while, either in the bottle or your glass, removes this element thankfully. I honestly was expecting more of a prominent mesquite hit but the apple threatens to drown that out at time. It’s very subtle but I don’t think that’s necessarily a problem. The apple is a fun new toy for this whiskey to play with, tinged with spices and smoke. Almost like a showcase for how many different varieties – not varietals – of apple you can have in one glass. Fresh apple, grilled apple, apple pie, and so on. This drinks very easily and enjoyably. While it is not hugely complex so to speak, neither is it boringly simple. Sitting at an attractive price is yet another plus.
Kate – The Colkegan Apple Brandy Cask doesn’t smell like an actual apple, more synthetic like a jolly rancher. The apple on the nose is like someone who shows up to the dinner party in sequins and dominates everyone’s attention so you don’t notice any other guests that come in after it. The finish is a poached pear in brandy with a cinnamon stick. This is apple crisp with cream sauce. Visiting at another time, I get almost nothing of apple and it is calling back to the Peach Street Pear Brandy. The finish is creamy and a little spicy. For this Islay drinker, my brain is almost confused that this is whisky. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s that it confuses me in a really good way.
Henry – Give this one time in the glass. Freshly cut apples, apple blossom, light honey, spiced pear, and a hint of smoke on the nose. Inhale deeply and sweet molasses and mesquite come out. Light floral, perfume, and deeper undertones of mesquite enter on the palate. The finish is bright, fruity, and smoky, with baked apple never quite leaving the picture. The light touch of mesquite influence from start to finish is elegant and attractive.
Ben – There’s a cereal element, like apple jacks. Maybe this will help explain Apple Jacks. There’s the skin of the green apple but an element that’s not normally in the Granny Smith. It’s kind of like apple pie because there’s a candy quality to the smell.
The apple is a fun new toy for this whiskey to play with.
Bill – This is a memory for me. This is home. In upstate NY, there are apples by the fistful every time you turn around. This is an apple I grew up with, maybe a Macintosh or a Cortland. It’s a baking apple, not your average red delicious.
Evelyn – There is a green apple on the nose but a heritage version of the Granny Smith. Like an Opal apple.
Sam – The Colkegan Apple Brandy Cask smells like a very young calvados. Smells like a Fuji apple.
